I Scream, You Scream! We All Scream for Ice Cream!

I don't know about you, but I can't think of a better summer treat than frosty, freshly churned ice cream! From the humble Rite-Aid cone to the creamy confections of Coldstone, and everything in-between, I can't say no to ice cream. Most nights, when craving the cold stuff, I have my hubby run out for shakes, our go-to when a craving calls! So why not make it yourself and have it ready any time?
Now, I'm not one for buying pricey equipment that will rarely be used, so I began looking around for recipes not requiring one, just in case my kids lost interest...a very good possibility. Expect to pay at least $40 for a good ice cream maker. If you plan to use it all summer, it's worth the investment. Sure, you can also collect a large zip lock bag, some rock salt, cream and get shaking, but I wanted something more. I wanted a recipe that yielded enough ice cream for at least four cones or sundaes and would hold up well in the freezer.
When my most recent Women's Day arrived in the mail, luck was on my side! On the front were delicious looking dishes of homemade ice cream. I read on. This recipe is too easy not to make! With just three ingredients, you can make a batch of ice cream in just a few hours. At a mere $0.38 per serving, you'll serve up savings as well as flavor! The best part is you can trasform a simple vanilla base into ANY flavor under the sun. Here it is:

2 cups heavy cream
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

That's it!! Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients in bowl until stiff peaks form (this took me about 5 minutes..) Then transfer into a freezer-safe loaf pan or bowl, cover and freeze for 8 hours (we ate ours around the 5 hour mark!) At about the half-way point, you can stir in ingredients for fun flavors. Keeps up to 2 weeks.
You can make it as simple as you want and with whatever ingredients you have on hand, or make it more exotic and fun if you have the time and energy to experiment! Whatever the flavor, you're sure to pack a little fun into your day with a homemade treat!
What are your favorite homemade flavors??

Got everything?

Five  minutes of mixing...

A bowl of creamy deliciousness!!

By the way, if you have a sweet tooth like mine and adore the decadence of cheesecake, mark your calendars for National Cheesecake Day at the Cheesecake Factory...yes, it really exists!! All day, cheesecake is half price! They are introducing a new flavor, Oreo Dream Extreme, which I plan to try! It's dine-in only and one slice per person so get a group and get ready for lunch or dinner (or both!!) Monday, July 30th!! If you've never been, you are seriously missing out! What a perfect time to try one of over thirty flavors!! http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/